Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1887-07-13
Holding the Rope.

Holding the Rope"
ST. PAUL IN A BASKET.
OBSERVE FIRST, ON WHAT A
SLENDER TENURE GREAT
RESULTS HANG.
PAUL AS AN IMPORTANT PAssEN-
GER.
NOTICE UNRECOGNISED AND UN-
RECORDED SERVICES.
DIR. TALMAeE's SERMON, SUNDAY, JULY 3RD.
MARrHA's VINEYARD, MASS, July 3rd.-
Many hundreds of Brooklyn tabernacle
people and their friends have made a Pill
grimage to this place. 1t is one point IN an
excursion of six days, taking in Newport,
Nantucket and this island. The hev. i.
Dewitt Talmage, DID,, preached here this
nacle, Thousands of people were present
from all parts of New England. The music
was conducted by a band.
DR.. Talmage's text was: Through
window in a basket was I let down by the
wall. iii. Cor. XII. SO. He said:
Sermons on Paul in Jail, Paul on Mars
Hill, Paul in the shipwreck, Paul before the
Sanhedrim, Paul before Felix are plentiful,
but in NV text we have Paul in basket
Damascus is city of white and glisten-
ing architecture sometimes called s'the eye
of the East" sometimes called ga pearl sur
rounded by emeralds,'' at one time distin-
guished for swords of the best material call
ed Damascus blades, and upholstery of
richest fabric called Damasks. A horse
man by the name of Saul, riding toward
this city, had been thrown from the saddle.
The horse had dropped under flash from
the sky, which at the same time was so
bright it blinded the rider fer many days,
andv think, so permanently injured his
eyesight that this defect of vision became
the thorn in the flesh he afterward speaks
of. He started for Damascus to butcher
Christians, but after that hard fall from his
horse he was changed man and preached
Christ in Damascus till the city was shaken
to it's foundation.
The Mayor gives authority for his arrest,
and the popular cry is, skill him Kill
him p The city is surrounded by high
wall, and the gates are watched by the po-
llC6 leSU tu0 ClClllhu pACoCACi CoOnPO' NAohJ
of the houses are built on the wall and their
balconies projected clear over and hovered
above the gardens outside. 1t was custom
ary to lower baskets out of these balconies
and pull mp fruits and flowers from the gar
dens. To this day visitors at the monastery
Mount Sinai are lifted and let down in
baskets. Detectives prowled around from
house to house looking for Paul, but his
friends hid him, now in one place, now in
another. He is no coward, as fifty incidents
in his life demonstrate. But he feels his
work is not done yet, and SO he evades as
sassination. s'Is that preacher here ?" the
foaming mob shout at one hOusedOor. sis
that fanatic here?" the police shout at an
other house door. Some times on the street
incoqnito he passes through a crowd of
clenched fists and sometimes he secrets him
self on the house-top. At last the infuriate
popuace get on sure track of him. They
have positive evidence that he is in the
house of one of the Christians, the balcony
of whose home reaches over the wall. "Here
he is! Here he isp' The vociferation and
blasphemy and bowling of the pursuers are
at the front door. They break in. "Fetch
out that Gospelizer, and let US hang his
head on the city gate. Where is he?' The
emergency was terrible. Providenttally
there was good stout basket in the house.
Paul's friends fasten rope to the basket.
Paul steps into it. The basket is lifted to
the edge of the balcony On the wall, and
then while Paul holds on to the rope with
both hands his friends lower away, careful
ly and cautiously, slowly but surely further
down and further down, until the basket
strikes the earth and the Apostle steps out
and afoot, and alone starts on that famons
missionary tour, the story of which has
astonished earth and heaven. Appropriate
entry in Paul's diary of travels: "Through
a window in a basket was I let down by the
WALL"
Observe, first, on what slender tenure
great results hang. The ropemaker who
twisted that cord fastened to that lowering
basket never knew how much would de-
pend upon the strength oft. How if it had
been broken and the Apostles life had been
dashed out? What would have become of
the Christian Church? All that magnii-
cent missionary work in Pamphilia. Cap
padocia, Galatia, Macedonia, would never
have been accomplished. All his writings
TIA at made up so indispensable and enchant-
ing part of the New Testament would ne
yer. have been written. The story of the re-
surrection would never have been so glorious
ly told as he told it. That example of heroic
and triumphant endurance at fhillppl, IN
the Mediterranean Euroclydon, under f1agel-
lation, and at the peheadlng, would not
have klndled the courage OF ten thousand
martyrdoms. But that rope holding that
basket-hoW mncn depended on 1t! 80
again and again great results have hung on
what seemed slender circumstances.
Did ever ship of many thousand tons
crossing the sea have such important pas
| I, &c
senger as had once poa5 OF leaves, from
taffrall to stern only three or four feet, the
vessel made waterproof py coat OF bitr-
men and floating on the Nile with the in
iant laW-glver OF the jews on board? What
it some crocodile should crunch it? What
II some OF the cattle waolng IN for drink
should SINK 1t? vessels OF war sometimes
carry forty guns looking through the port